Man who tried to suffocate infant sent to prison

By
Emiley Morgan
|
Posted - Dec 13th, 2013 @ 8:08am

WEST JORDAN — A Midvale man who pleaded guilty to severely abusing a 6-month-old boy was ordered to prison Thursday.

Juan Manuel Duran, 45, was sentenced to one to 20 years in prison for trying to suffocate the infant with a towel in July. Third District Judge Charlene Barlow ordered Duran to serve two concurrent terms of one to 15 years in prison and a consecutive term of zero to five years for attempted child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony; and two counts of child abuse for inflicting serious physical injury intentionally, one a second-degree felony and the other a third-degree felony.

Barlow also ordered the man to pay any restitution that is ordered.

Duran pleaded guilty to the charges in October. In exchange for his plea, four additional charges were dropped, including one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony.

According to charging documents, police arrested Duran at the apartment where he was living with Jade Olsen, 7923 S. Main, after she reported the suffocation attempt. Before officers arrived, Duran made comments about the baby such as he "wished he was dead" and that he should "just throw him out the (expletive) window," according to charging documents.

When the infant was taken to the hospital, doctors discovered the child had many other injuries consistent with being abused, including "many externally visible marks and bruises on various locations of his body," five bruises across his forehead "apparently from inflicted blows to his head," multiple "inflicted bite marks" on his neck, fractured ribs, a fracture in his arm, and bruising near his scrotum, according to the charges.

Jade Olsen's case

Because prosecutors said the child's mother,
Jade Olsen, was aware of the abuse but did
nothing about it, they charged her with
intentional child abuse, a second-degree
felony.

That case is currently pending and in
negotiations, Parrish said.

"(The infant) could easily have been killed and was at extreme risk of death or disability from the actions of an adult caregiver," a doctor told prosecutors.

Prosecutor Rob Parrish said the child was at the court hearing Thursday and is "doing quite well." The boy is now in the custody of his grandparents.

Olsen admitted to investigators that she was "aware of (Duran) abusing (her child) for the last few months and has not reported it. She stated she was in fear for her own well-being and so she never reported any of (the boy's) injuries or did anything about it," charging documents state.

Parrish said Duran and Olsen, the child's mother, had only recently moved in together when the abuse was reported. Olsen was working and Duran was caring for the child.